Hello!

Welcome to our April newsletter!

As you know, every year on April 22, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970 and all of April is a time to raise environmental awareness. You are part of this essential community-driven and science-based work here in Montauk, the local work which you’ll read about here connects us all to this national movement. For example, we’re excited about hiring a clean water expert to advise on the wastewater crisis, and I hope you’ll join us on May 20 to put the Floating Wetlands back into Fort Pond. We have some staff updates. After six years of service to the Montauk community, Laura Tooman is stepping down as our leader, there’s a message below from Laura. CCOM thanks Laura for her service and wishes her the best. She will be assisting us during the transition. We are also excited to announce that Montauk's own Kay Tyler is joining CCOM - you will hear from her soon! 

We can’t do this work without you and look forward to seeing you soon. 

Yours,

I joined CCOM in May of 2017 just weeks after the birth of my daughter. In those past 6 years, we have accomplished so many things together and made great progress in protecting and restoring the Montauk we all love. But the time has come for me to move on and pass the torch to another. I will be staying with the organization over the next few weeks to ensure a smooth transition and look forward to seeing some of you over that time. As you will see in this month’s newsletter CCOM is continuing its great work in tackling the water quality, wastewater, and coastal resiliency issues in Montauk. As an organization with such a rich history of environmental victories, I’m confident that CCOM will continue to do great things in the future!

Farewell,

We have retained Dr. Christopher Gobler, renowned for a lifetime of scientific water quality work to assess Montauk’s longstanding wastewater issue. Dr. Gobler is the director of the NYS Center for Clean Water Technology at Stony Brook University and has 20 years of research focusing on how excessive nitrogen loading affects water quality.

Dr. Gobler, in collaboration with CCOM’s environmental team, will be investigating Montauk’s wastewater issue using the best science and data currently available. We have been working with him to monitor harmful algal blooms in Fort Pond for the past six years. “CCOM has been a leader of environmental protection for Montauk for decades,” Dr. Gobler noted. “The Gobler Lab has been proud to partner with CCOM to monitor Montauk waters and specifically Fort Pond. I am excited to expand this collaboration by closely examining approaches and policy options that will best protect Montauk’s most precious resource, its water.”

Engaging Dr. Gobler will advance CCOM's goal of obtaining more information that can help to assess whether the environmental benefits of the Town’s wastewater proposal would outweigh potential harm, as outlined by CCOM’s January 2023 statement, linked HERE.

The collaboration announcement was made at a public panel discussion at Gurney’s in Montauk on April 21 attended by key East Hampton Town officials, Montauk residents, business owners, and others.

The Long Island Community Foundation (LICF) has awarded CCOM a $25,000 grant from the Henry Phillip Kraft Fund to install floating wetlands in Fort Pond to reduce nutrient concentrations and control harmful algal blooms, which have plagued the Pond for years. 

This year will mark the third consecutive year CCOM will be installing vegetated mats. The plants are designed to uptake nutrients in the water column that would have otherwise been used by algae to reproduce exponentially, eventually causing an algal bloom. Interestingly, since the start of our efforts, annual algal blooms in the pond have decreased in frequency and toxicity. Besides nutrient removal capabilities, the wetland installations provide incredible habitat for fish, birds, and other animals. 

We are thrilled that the Long Island Community Foundation has joined the fight to help restore Fort Pond. This grassroots effort is the epitome of what a community-led environmental organization should achieve—creating educated, involved, and passionate environmental stewards while making measurable environmental improvements.

Hundreds of volunteers have contributed to the success of this effort, and once again we ask that you join us on May 20th to help plant and install over 3,000 square feet of floating mats filled with 7,200 native plants. For more information or to sign up please contact CCOM at: info@preservemontauk.org.

The floating wetlands are just one aspect of CCOMs comprehensive watershed-based approach to helping to restore Fort Pond, including supporting a robust land acquisition program, wastewater and septic upgrades, and stormwater management.

We want to give a big THANK YOU to all who participated in the Great Montauk Cleanup that was held on Earth Day this year. This kind of community action remains at the core of CCOM. 

We applaud these local businesses for showing their love for Montauk and its natural resources during our cleanup: The Montauk Brewing Company offered free beer tokens to those who worked up a thirst. They will also share with us a portion of the proceeds from a limited edition IPA with a mission to support local NY green initiatives. Al from Hampton Ice stopped by with a giant bag of ice for our refreshments. The Montauk Yacht Club offered free pizza and beer to all participants. And did you know that Mickey’s Carting has been donating dumpsters for our cleanups for over 20 years? Thank you, Montauk!

Our beaches are threatened by trash that is harmful to marine life and water quality. On Earth Day CCOM joined Relic Sustainability and several other local organizations at Navy Road Beach in Montauk to launch the installation of beach cleanup stations at five locations, including Ditch Plains, Navy Road, Edison ("Nick's"), Hero, and Atlantic Avenue beaches.

CCOM is sponsoring a station at Ditch Plains. Other stations are sponsored by The Town, Surfrider Eastern Long Island, the Montauk Chamber of Commerce, the Hampton Lifeguard Association, Daunt's Albatross, and Homeport. The goal is to facilitate voluntary trash pickup at some of our greatest local resources—our beautiful beaches. So next time you are at the beach, grab a basket and help us combat trash pollution!

Balloon pollution is a threat to our marine ecosystems. The bright colors often attract wildlife that mistake trashed balloons for food. This can lead to obstructions in their gastrointestinal tracts, and the strings can also wrap around their bodies, often leading to asphyxiation.

To help combat balloon pollution we held another Balloons for Beach Bag contest in March. We had five participants and collectively they removed 53 balloons from the environment! The grand prize went to Montauk's own Jane Bimson for finding 24 balloons and putting them all in the trash. She received a beach bag filled with CCOM merch and a $50 gift card to Adam Mar. Stay tuned for more contests!

We welcome Kay Tyler as CCOM’s new fundraising Development Consultant who is no stranger to Montauk and is active in many areas of the community. A Montauk lover since 2006 and full-time resident for over 12 years, with her husband and three young children, who attend Montauk School, she brings leadership and marketing experience from JetBlue Airways, American Express, and Citigroup. Kay continued her career after starting a family and moving full-time to Montauk, initially as the Executive Director of the Montauk Chamber of Commerce and later as a Director at Gurney’s. A fully vested devotee of Montauk, she looks forward to helping CCOM preserve its future.

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS!!! Concerned Citizens of Montauk need community volunteers on Saturday, May 20th to help install CCOM’s floating wetlands system in Fort Pond. This is the third year of this wetlands project. This is a great opportunity for students to receive community service hours!

WHAT: Floating wetlands installation to improve water quality in Ft. Pond, Montauk

WHEN: Saturday, May 20, 2023, 9 am – 1 pm (approximately)

WHERE: Meet at Ft. Pond Fishing Access / Boat Launch Ramp: 41 S. Erie St., Montauk

CONTACT: Danielle Friscia / Director of Operations / Info@PreserveMontauk.org

We are very proud to announce that this year’s installation will be funded by a grant from the Long Island Community Foundation (LICF).

CLICK HERE for more information on becoming a volunteer.

CLICK HERE if you would like to learn more about floating wetlands technology.

Check out the Energize East Hampton panel discussion webinar at LTV’s studio, which took place on April 20th, entitled “Sustainable Landscaping: Everything You Need to Know.” It includes an amazing panel of individuals from the landscaping world who discuss native vegetation, soil health, and other sustainable practices that you can adopt in your own backyard.